Mastering Your Brand Voice Guidelines: A Step-by-Step Guide with Framework and Examples
A Comprehensive Guide to Creating Brand Voice Guidelines
Alright, gear up. We're about to embark on a no-BS journey through the wild maze of Brand Voice Guidelines.
Think of this as your map, your cheat sheet, your back-alley guide to sculpting a voice that's as unique as that tattoo you got on a dare.
We're not just gonna preach; we'll pull back the curtain, giving you a sneak peek into our own madhouse of brand strategy.
Ready to take the plunge?
Let's tear into it.
Not up for the challenge? Check out our startup branding services.
What is Brand Voice?
So, what’s this “Brand Voice” racket everyone’s buzzing about?
Well, brand voice refers to the unique personality and tone that a company uses in its communications, reflecting its identity and values. Think of it as the swagger, the tone, the je ne sais quoi of how a brand shoots the breeze with its tribe. It’s like the brand’s fingerprint, its signature mixtape—distinct, unapologetic, and dialed right into the frequency of its crowd. It’s not just about being heard; it’s about standing out in the mad cacophony, making sure every word lands with a punch.
For a brand voice to be effective, it needs to be:
Consistent: Maintaining uniformity across all platforms and messages.
Authentic: True to the brand's core values and identity.
Relevant: Addressing the needs and interests of your audience.
Engaging: Captivating your audience's attention and fostering a connection.
Memorable: Leaving a lasting impression.
All customer interactions should reflect these attributes, ensuring alignment with your brand’s overarching message.
What is Brand Tone?
Alright, let's break it down. While Brand Voice is the gutsy core, the soul, the essence of your brand's persona, Brand Tone?
That's the vibe, the mood, the flair. It's how you spin your tales, the emotions you pack into them, and the lingo you drop when chatting up your crew or shouting out to the masses.
Think of Voice as the legendary lead singer, and Tone?
That's the killer guitar solo that gets everyone amped.
A compelling tone of voice should:
Resonate with your target audience: Tailoring messages to their preferences.
Be accurate: Offering truthful and reliable information.
Maintain consistency: Ensuring uniformity while adapting to different contexts.
Capture attention: Standing out and promoting engagement.
The primary aim of the Brand Voice Guidelines is to ensure a harmonious and consistent tone in all communications your brand has with its audience.
Let's embark on this branding journey together!
Brand Voice Quick Tips
Stay true to your brand’s personality - Remember, your brand has its own unique identity and character. Your communication should reflect that in both the words you use and the tone with which you communicate.
Be conversational - People like to talk, not be talked at. A casual and friendly writing style is both engaging and welcoming for customers.
Be consistent - Your brand voice should be applied across all channels and platforms, from social media to email communication, and even in-person interactions. Maintaining a consistent brand voice fosters trust and loyalty among consumers. Ensure all team members communicate in alignment with clearly defined brand voice guidelines to present a unified brand presence.
Use positive language - While it’s ok to address difficult topics, use positive language when addressing them. Avoid using negative words like “can’t” or “won’t” and instead, focus on what can be accomplished.
Show empathy - Show your customers that you understand how they feel by using language that conveys empathy. Use phrases like “I get it” or “we hear you.”
Be clear - Your message should be easy to read and understand. Avoid using jargon, acronyms, or complex language and stick to shorter sentences and simple words.
Brand Voice Examples:
Example 1: A customer has just placed an order. Your response should be friendly and conversational, showing appreciation for their purchase: “Thanks so much for your order! We can’t wait to get it out to you.” This response reflects the brand voice characteristics by being warm and appreciative.
Example 2: A customer is asking a question that requires explaining a complex issue. Your response should be clear and concise, using positive language and showing empathy: “I understand how confusing this can be. Let me explain the situation in a few simple steps…”
By following these brand voice guidelines, you can create a unified and consistent tone across all customer-facing communications.
This will help to build trust with your customers and strengthen their loyalty to your brand.
If you need help creating your brand voice, tone and communication strategy, contact us!
Feeling Speechless When it Comes to Determining Brand Voice?
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What Is A Brand Voice
Alright, here’s the deal: A brand voice? That’s the distinct flavor, the undeniable swagger your company flaunts when it’s chatting up its audience.
It’s the wicked blend of your brand’s language game, its communication goals, its foundational beliefs, and the craft of its wordsmiths. That’s your brand voice, right there. For a brand voice to be effective, it must be authentic to the brand's core values, ensuring consistency across all platforms and fostering a genuine connection with customers.
While the voice remains rock steady, the tone? That’s a shapeshifter, adapting to the room, reading the crowd.
From the words on your site to the flash of your ads, the buzz of your emails to the charm of your social media rants, it’s all echoing the principles and passions that fuel your brand’s engine.
Now, there’s no one-size-fits-all here. Some brands are like that chill friend with killer stories, others are the know-it-all gurus, the cutting-edge trendsetters, or the eternal party starters.
Why fuss over this?
Because your brand voice is the secret sauce that makes folks feel like they’re vibing with a friend, not just a faceless corporation. It’s your ticket to being memorable, to standing out in the relentless digital noise.
Crafting that voice?
It ain’t a walk in the park. Dive deep into what your peeps want, map out a badass branding strategy, and always—always—keep those ears to the ground, soaking up feedback from your crew and the folks cheering you on.
Before you go all-in on this branding odyssey, remember to lock down your brand’s soul—the mission, the dream, the values. Nail these basics, lace them with your signature voice, and watch your brand soar to cult status.
It's what we do at The Branded and so much more.
How to use brand archetypes to build your brand personality and brand voice!
Here’s the playbook on leveraging brand archetypes to sculpt a badass brand personality and voice:
Step 1: Lock onto your archetype. You’ve got a wild spread of 12: Sage, Innocent, Explorer, Hero, Outlaw, Creator, Jester, Lover, Caregiver, Magician, and Ruler. Each packs its own flavor, its own quirks, its own vibe.
Step 2: Once you’ve snagged your archetype, milk it. Let it be the backbone of your brand’s persona. Ever wondered how the Sage might throw shade or how the Outlaw would slide into DMs? Dive deep. Ponder on how each of these characters would play the marketing game or charm their tribe.
Step 3: Armed with your freshly minted brand persona, let it bleed into every word you write, every campaign you launch, every meme you share. Remember, consistency is key. Stick to the essence of your chosen archetype, and you’ll craft a voice that’s undeniably, irresistibly you. Ensure your brand's tone aligns with the chosen archetype to maintain authenticity and connect with your audience.
Listen up: Your brand voice? That’s not just how you talk—it’s how you roar in this digital jungle. It’s the pulse, the rhythm, the battle cry that’ll make or break your brand-building saga.
Because here’s the kicker: in this mad digital carnival, it’s one thing to make noise, but another to leave an echo. The words you drop, the way you vibe on social platforms—that’s your legacy, your mark.
But let’s not just blend into the background, yeah? Your goal? Be that electric guitar riff in a sea of elevator music. That distinct, unmistakable sound that folks can’t help but groove to.
Ready to dive into the playbook?
Kick things off by gazing into the digital mirror. Ask yourself: what’s the online avatar of your brand? Is it the sassy rebel, the wise guru, or the eternal optimist?
Because to soar above the din, to truly resonate.
Why Is A Brand Voice Important?
Speaking of the noise, you want your brand voice to be recognized right away, even before announcing who you are or having the audience see who has posted.
If that happens, it’s a sign your brand identity and personality are scaling to recognition. Or it can mean your brand has already has been recognized by your audience.
That is the power of a brand voice. A strong brand voice represents a unique personality that captivates the target audience, fostering engagement and differentiation from competitors.
Consistency and repetition with your brand voice will build longevity in your business. Consistent signs of life presented to your audience will build brand awareness, while repetition helps in building trust and authenticity.
A brand voice also creates concise messaging and a coherent strategy where customers will choose you over another company.
Here’s the raw deal: If your brand’s voice is all over the place, flip-flopping like a fish out of water, don’t be surprised if folks tune out. It’s like trying to vibe to a DJ who keeps switching genres every two minutes.
A wavering voice?
It’s not just confusing—it’s a credibility killer. People start scratching their heads, wondering, “Who even is this brand?”
Yeah, a slick brand image can turn heads, but let’s be real: in this age of digital clones, there are a dozen doppelgängers with the same vibe. What really sets you apart is a voice that’s unmistakably yours—a battle cry echoing your brand’s soul, its ethos, its mission.
In the end, if you’re playing the long game, that distinct, unwavering voice isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s your lifeline.
The Difference Between Voice And Tone
Before we look into the examples and the 4 step brand voice guidelines, we’ll take a look at the difference between brand voice and tone.
Brand voice and tone are intertwined with each other.
We went over the definition of a brand voice.
A brand voice is your company expression through your communication. The tone, on the other hand, is the emotional infliction you incorporate in different situations.
Think of your brand voice as that iconic rock ballad—it’s timeless, unwavering. But the tone? That’s the remix. It’s how you tweak the vibe based on the crowd and the venue.
You wouldn’t belt out the same tune in a boardroom as you would at a beach bonfire, right? That’s the game—email convos might have a different flair compared to your Twitter rants.
If voice is the soul, tone’s the mood swing—shifting, adapting, but never betraying the original essence.
Get this duo jamming in harmony, and you’re not just making noise—you’re orchestrating anthems that resonate with your tribe. Establishing a consistent brand's voice fosters recognition, trust, and authenticity among audiences.
Brand Voice Examples
Alright, straight talk: just slapping you with definitions might not light up the bulb for everyone. And that's cool. Sometimes you've gotta see the magic in action to truly get it.
Let's roll up our sleeves and peep into the playbook of three rockstars who've nailed their brand voice game.
Ready for the deep dive?
Sneakertopia
Alright, let's pull back the curtain on one of our own – Sneakertopia. Picture this: a dope fusion of sneaker culture housed in a killer space, jazzed up with augmented reality. It's not just a museum; it's a hub for creative souls and community seekers, where kicks meet art in an interactive dance.
Now, fasten your seatbelts. We're about to dive deep into the brand voice blueprint we've crafted for these legends.
Sneakertopia Brand Voice Chart
Peep this chart and you'll spot Sneakertopia vibing hard with their core jams: community, leadership, education, and self-expression. Rule #1? Know your heartbeats, your values. And once you do? Make damn sure they're front and center in every word you spit.
Swing by Sneakertopia's digital digs and you're hit with their fearless trifecta: confidence, authenticity, and pure, unfiltered creativity. They've laid out the welcome mat in a way that screams, "All are welcome in our sneaker kingdom."
Their brand mojo? It's this intoxicating cocktail of edgy storytelling with a zest of rebellion, all while serving up lessons from the sneaker world's archives.
Why does their voice hit different? It's grounded in rock-solid values, and you can feel that soul in every sentence they craft.
Saint Perry
Introducing Saint Perry: the fashion juggernaut that's unapologetically dripping in swagger. Let's dive into the brand voice map we've whipped up for these trendsetters:
Saint Perry Brand Voice Chart
Saint Perry doesn't just talk; they strut. Hit up their homepage and you're met with a vibe that's all kinds of inspiring with a side of fierce confidence.
Peep their brand voice playbook, and you'll spot:
Rolling with upbeat lingo.
Giving emojis the cold shoulder for that luxe, premium touch.
Keeping it direct with an active voice.
Chatting it up in the first or second person.
And a blacklist of no-gos: words like "fast fashion", "generic", and "cheap" don't make the cut.
We gave their brand identity a sharp new edge, amping up the aesthetics to scream "high-end", "sophisticated", and "luxe". Marrying that look with their vision, we crafted a voice that's as iconic as the brand itself.
We've turned the volume up for Saint Perry, positioning them as the crème de la crème of the fashion world.
Over here at The Branded Agency, we're not just throwing darts in the dark. We've got the secret sauce to turbocharge brands, helping them hit the sweet spot with their audience. Case in point? Grindology. With our ninja-level strat and voice guidelines, they've hit bullseye in brand clarity.
And guess what? We're ready to crank up the magic for you too.
Now, strap in. We're about to break down the 4-step masterplan to craft messaging and branding that resonates like a chart-topping hit.
Brand Voice Guidelines: Define Your Brand
It will be time-consuming, but your brand voice deserves just as much attention as creating visuals for your brand.
When put together, you'll be equipped with a strong brand foundation.
Step 1. Create your brand positioning
What does this mean?
Clearly identify the problem that exists for your customer and explain how you solve that problem.
Create a brand purpose and purpose statement for your brand, why do you exist?
What are your brand pillars?
This needs to be clearly articulated and those brand pillars need to be repurposed and brought to life through your brands key messages.
You'll also want to flush out your brands vision, tagline, brand personality and more.
At a quick glance, brand positioning is:
Vision: What your business is trying to accomplish. It reveals the type of impact it wishes to achieve.
Mission: It’s why the business exists. It declares the purpose of the business trying to serve its audience.
Values: A statement listing down fundamental values that the business operates.
This foundation will be the stepping stone to a cohesive brand voice.
Take a look at our brand bible guidelines and examples.
We recognize the possibility of needing a branding and marketing agency to achieve brand identity.
So we’ve gathered a list for you to choose from.
They are also all Canadian-based businesses.
We, of course, included ourselves in the list because as brand experts, we believe in our work and the scalability of our full-service agency.
Defining your brand and understanding your communication methods, messages and how you want to be perceived is the first step to the brand voice guidelines.
Research Your Audience
To cater to your targeted audience, you need to know them.
Researching your audience is Step 2 in our brand voice guidelines.
A great exercise to do is to answer these questions and do more research in:
Who is your target customer?
What are their demographic, background, motivation, and what are their identifiers?
What do they want?
What are some of their goals, and what challenges are they facing?
Why do they want it?
What experiences do they already have, and what motivates them?
How can you help?
What's your position and elevator pitch?
Take a look at our brand persona template to further help explore your audience.
This will be helpful because it’s another way of formulating your brand voice to capture your target audience.
But also remaining true to your foundation and brand identity.
Don’t forget that you want your brand voice to feel familiar and be similar to your audience's interests.
This is essentially relationship-building because you want your brand voice to resonate with your audience.
Inspect Your Current Content
Step 3. Do an audit of your current content, visuals and brand messaging–or the plans you have already created.
If you already have content that's published, it is worth looking into it to see if it fits your current voice and your brand foundation that flushes out your mission, vision and values.
Look through your assets and your communication methods in these platforms:
Website
Blog posts
Case Studies
Ad Copy
Social Media Platforms
Videos
The reason why we inspect and audit is to review what has been established.
It's so we can see how we are already coming across.
Is our voice confident?
Friendly? High-end? Uplifting? Corporate? Witty?
Take a look at your messaging and your tone.
Perhaps, you get to see top-performing posts and see what resonates with the audience.
Or, you find that your communication methods and brand voice and tone do not reflect your core values.
That calls for a change in direction and strategy in brand positioning
It could mean pivoting and creating visuals and messages to connect back to your brand voice goals.
Create A Brand Voice Chart
Step 4. You guessed it. Create a brand voice chart!
This is a crucial step to form a solid brand voice.
Brainstorming and putting emphasis on your values are needed.
We've already provided three brand voice charts that we've created for clients.
Take note of it as it will help you create your very own brand voice chart for your business as well.
A brand voice chart will allow you to focus on the true essence of your brand voice goals.
Think about the voice you want to emulate and the words that describe who your business is.
A tip for brand building is to use certain key phrases throughout your online presence to establish a brand voice.
When people see this, it will trigger memory and they'll eventually memorize some of your key phrases.
A brand voice chart will include:
Your voice characteristics or values on the left of the chart
Followed by your voice description in the next column
Words that describe how you intend to communicate in the next column
The last column can be an example of a “but not” column
You can also keep it simple and have these as the column themes: Trait, description, do’s and do nots.
Successful Brand Voice Guidelines
NNow you are equipped with creating your brand voice using our brand voice guideline.
The most important thing to keep in mind is to make sure your brand voice is genuine and authentic to your business. You don’t want to force things as that will come off as untrustworthy. It will also be seen right away by your targeted audience.
Your brand voice has to fit your brand and personal branding, too. It connects.
Remember, communication is key, and it starts with a brand voice guideline. It also starts with your vision, mission and values. Establishing your own brand voice guidelines helps maintain consistency in tone and messaging across various platforms.
It’s all about connecting things. Our Branding Agency can do that for you, as we have done it for ourselves and other businesses, too.
An impactful, recognizable brand voice is the key to building strong customer relationships and growing your business.
Whether you’re a startup company looking to make a splash in your industry, or an established brand looking to refresh your image, developing a compelling brand voice can help you stand out from the competition and connect with customers on a deeper level.
Here are some very specific step by step branding guides for: Real Estate, Lawyers, Accounting, Doctors, Dentists, Optometrists, Jewellery, Makeup & Beauty, Skincare, Pet Food, Fashion, Brand Positioning and Construction.
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